


First to fire

by meikahidenori



Series: Team Fortress 2 [2]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-27 10:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/977670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meikahidenori/pseuds/meikahidenori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Incomplete, chapters will be added at random intervals</p><p>set a few months after the events of Last man standing.<br/>Baz ends up a red prisoner at the Well base and along with the rag tag reds of the base begin a journey to the frontlines to stop the robot invasion by Greyman who is trying to take ManCo by force. this story has new characters and old ones from the previous story who return so hopefully you enjoy this one as much as the last one ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue & Team Captain

: Prologue  
  
The Blu spy closed in on the intelligence room on the Red Well base. His route was blocked by a lone sentry that was armed to the hilt with machine guns and rockets. A quick whip around revealed the distinct lack of an engineer. The spy could not believe his luck. Either the red engineer was new and had been called elsewhere, or was too incompetent to keep an eye on his machinery. He cloaked and moved in as close as he dared, reached into his suit and pulled out his electro sapper which he had in a hidden pocket and prepared to ceremoniously place the sapper on the machine.

  
KABLAM!

  
The sound of the electro sapper hitting the floor echoed all around the intelligence room. The spy slowly slumped to the floor in a heap. Footsteps could be heard from the shadows, and an engineer now stood over the deceased. He kicked the enemy with one old dusty boot and lifted his goggles from over his glasses, wiping his brow and whistling.

  
“Yer’ shure’ ‘r a stupid one, ain’t yer?’  
  
Chapter 1 : Team Captain.

  
Trevor awoke on the hard cold concrete floor of his quarters. It came to a surprise to the 37 year old that there was any space in his quarters left on the floor to be lying on, since over the years he had been stationed there he accumulated so much junk there wasn’t really any part of the floor to be seen. Cables, scrap metal, machinery where all over the place, if a loose spark where to fly in here it would go up in one instant ‘WHOOMPH!’

  
“Oh! So yah now awake yo? About time man!”

  
Trevor looked up into the pale blue eyes of the youngest member of the team, Jonny, the Well’s current scout, his face full of amusement and mischief. Trevor frowned. The scout was blurry without his glasses on, so the kid was leaning in very close.

  
“Werl’ instead ov’ standn’ ther’ why don’t yer’ help me up?’

  
“Tich,” the scout snorted. “Oh alright, since it’s YOU Trev.”

  
“I swear if yer wer’ my own son I’d have beaten yer’ sorry hide a long time ago, boy.” He sat up, the scout helping him to his feet. Trevor stumbled over a few loose cables, grabbed his glasses from his work bench, breathed on them before putting them on.

  
“Gee, remind me never to wake yah up when yah’ve had too much to drink.” Jonny grinned; producing a stone faced expression from the engineer. “How comes yah on the floor anyway? Yah been like that every mornin’ for the past three months.” The scout picked up a random bit of scrap metal, inspected it, and after debating whether or not it was worth pocketing, put it back down with the rest of the clutter.

  
“What ar’ yer’ here for anyway, Jonny?”  Trevor growled. Last thing he wanted was the kid prying into his nightmares. He didn’t like the stuff that went on back there in his own head, let alone have someone else poke around in there.

  
Again Jonny was picking up random things, his short attention span hopelessly lost when it came to the amazing wonders of accumulated crap in the engineer’s room.  
“Jonny… JONNY!” Trevor shouted. The scout dropped whatever it was he was holding with a loud CLANG and looked sheepish.

  
“Sorry Trev, Yah got so much awesome stuff here.” The scout faltered. Trevor rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders. If this kid WAS his son, he’d have been sent to military school without any intention of ever letting him return home.

  
“What’er want Jonny?” the engineer asked again, this time making sure the scout held eye contact with him to prevent the kid’s attention span wandering off again.

  
“Oh! We’ve got a new captain.” Jonny grinned. Trevor blinked. He forgot all about the new squad captain. Well not exactly forgot, he thought glancing at the state of his workbench, the administrator’s memo was amongst it somewhere… more like misplaced.

  
“why didn’t yer’ wake me up sooner?”

  
“I did!” Jonny protested, failing his arms around. “Yah all wouldn’t get up!?” he pouted. “Whatta wanna me ta do? Set yah pants on fire?”

  
“Jerz’ be off with yer’” Trevor shooed the scout towards the door. “Go on! Git!”

  
Trevor closed the door behind them, then coded in his password as an afterthought, he didn’t really want Jonny back in there without any supervision, who knows what the kid might find.. or worse..DO.

  
So, the new Captain was finally here. Better go find out who it is, least it be another John Doe who got it into his head to go and ambush the enemy base… like hells that worked last time, that’s WHY they were getting a NEW man in charge in the first place.

  
Trevor yawned and started walking along the corroded brick corridors to the intel room where his new captain was already making himself at home. Glossy black shoes rested on the desk, a shiny new revolver lay beside a half-eaten doughnut which was next to a mug that proclaimed to the universe in general, that he was the ‘Number 1 spy’. Trevor stood there a good few minutes watching the gentleman’s gentleman leaf through some documents. If the man was waiting for the other sergeant in the squad to also be present, he’d be waiting for a LONG time. Turtle, was ALWAYS late to everything. The Scotsman was NEVER sober, hence never around when you needed him. The engineer felt all alone at this point, till the door opened and both the sniper and the medic entered, making him relax, as now he was not facing his superior alone. They were both young woman, and could best be described as this: If it was possible to huddle behind a support beam, Kurai the team’s small, curvy little medic could do it and turn it into a sport. She was afraid of practically everything, jumping out of her skin over some of the silliest things known to man. Sophie, on the other hand was so thin you could probably hang her on a washing line and she’s blow away in the wind. It wasn’t long before Jonny himself stumbled in as well, the scout never one to miss any opportunity to make the rest of the squad’s life any more stressful than it currently was.

  
The spy put down his papers he was reading and looked up at the small assembly. His expression said everything about the sight before him, the look of shame and disbelief that he was put in charge of the most rag-tag bunch of mercenaries in the whole of Reliable Excavation Demolition Company. He was hoping to be put in charge of some of the greatest fighters on his side of this silly little feud-turned-war, not some useless rabble. He clicked his tongue, and then stood up to take a better look at his new charge.  
In truth, the reason the team wasn’t very large was due to the fact that Well wasn’t a strategic strong hold. Sure, both sides still fought there from time to time, but it was mostly a supply depo than anything else, in fact a lot of the small fighting that did occur was only a cover on the surface while they secretly traded weapons and other things amongst themselves and the only reason it hadn’t been found out was that the area wasn’t important enough to fight constantly over, that and occasionally some new squad leader took it into their head to end the stalemate. The result was always the same, both sides defaulting back to a ceasefire arrangement once the new guy was either brutally maimed or had given in to the of the rest of the team’s idea of fighting, which was as little as humanly possible.

  
The spy was not too thrilled with being in charge of a place that was just an excuse to store junk. He’d rather be leading a team to glory, however an opportunity to be a captain of a squad of his own was extremely inviting, hence why he had jumped at the offer the second he saw it posted in the main headquarters’ bulletin boards three months ago. Even now, he was refusing to let doubts cloud his judgement that this was a bad idea. He was not going back to headquarters to become a laughing stock of the company and other spies on his own side. Arrogance was the only thing keeping him from walking out of there.

  
“Good morning, Gentlemen…and Ladies.” He smiled at the two women, Kuri, trembling and ducking out of sight behind Trevor, in case the spy simply talking to her was going to harm her in anyway.

  
“M..mmm..morinzink….” She stammered, her voice muffled as it was buried in the back of the engineer’s shirt. Trevor sighed. He’d been around the medic for a few years now and never quite understood why the girl has always chosen him to be her body guard when talking to strangers. The spy’s expression said it all; he was confused at her reaction and mentally wiped it from existence, pretending it never happened. That’s all he needed, a cowardly medic in his team. FANTASTIC.

  
“’Mornin’ stranger.” Trevor replied. He’d be damned if he was ever going to acknowledge a spy as a team captain, but was doing everything in his power not to show it. Sometimes, when you hit a certain age, it’s best not to push your luck, even when you know that you’re going to end up running the whole show as you usually do and just pretend the guy at the top is the boss who told you to do it that way, even though you’ve disobeyed every single one of his orders as they didn’t filter through the fine mesh of logic, common sense and the most important thing, survivability.

  
‘Yo.” Jonny slouched against Sophie, who promptly shoved the young man upright. She was not his public leaning post, even thought she was skinny enough to pass for one. So far she hadn’t said anything, which wasn’t unusual; Sophie rarely said anything much as being quiet was important in her profession, although working alongside Jhonny made keeping your position a secret sometimes absolutely impossible from time to time.

  
The spy scrutinized them. “Is this the lot of you? I thought there was a Demoman?”

  
They all exchanged glances. No one really wanted to answer him on that. They all looked at Trevor, being the oldest and being then one who’d less likely to be yelled at for the Scots failed attendance.

  
The engineer sighed. “He’s er.. best naught ta be disturbed. Yer’ know how it is with people with thar’ alcohol problems.”

  
“Hmm.” The spy glared at the engineer but the man didn’t back down, instead the older man held his expression, stotic and stone-faced. Well, time to set an example.  
The spy straightened his suit and headed out of the intelligence room and made a beeline down the halls for the demoman’s quarters.

  
“Is he doing what I think he’s doing?” Sophie spoke up, and indicated down the corridor. “Is he going to try and set an example?”

  
“Yer’ know… I better go en… yer’ know…” Trevor waved a hand in an attempt to persuade them not to follow. He ran after the spy in hopes to catch up with him before….

  
KRISSHK!

  
Glass shattered on the wall behind the spy, luckily the Frenchman had the foresight to duck as soon as he kicked open the Scotsman’s door. Trevor grabbed him and dragged him a safe distance away as Turtle wobbled out of his quarters, shouting a long string of incomprehensible babble, throwing another bottle which landed inches from the new captain’s shiny shoes. Trevor pulled the confused spy back a few paces more as Turtle advanced, the drunken demoman stumbling into one of the walls and slumping to the floor, laughing away still ranting about rains of salmon.

  
“Wer’ll I did try ter’ warn yer’, but yer’ just had ter’ wake em’ up.” Trevor hissed in the spy’s ear.

  
The captain straightened himself up, brushed down his suit and tried to decrease the folds the engineer had made in his sleeves. There were a few greasy marks on one of them causing him to frown, lick his thumb and try to rub them out, only to make them spread.

  
“Sorry about that thar’ sir.” Trevor hesitated and scratched the back of his head. “Look, how’s about yer’ give me yer’ suit at the end of the day an’ I’ll see to it that it’s dry cleaned all proper?”

  
“That’s very nice of you to offer, but I have my own personal dry cleaning service.” The spy remarked, walking back towards the intel room. The rest of the squad where all standing around inside still, and he waved them off. “You’re all dismissed for now.” The door slammed as they all stepped out. The other three then spotted Turtle in the corridor, snoring away loudly in a puddle of his own drool.

  
“Yer’ know I’ve never met anyone who’d not been ruffle’ by ther’ sight of Turtle with a bad hangover.” Trevor said out of the blue. Jonny slung one arm around the engineer and shook him a bit.

  
“Ya know, I don’t think any of us was expecting the man to take it as well as that ya know.” He said in a matter-of-factual way.  
  
Back in his office, Blades walked over to a large mirror and straightened his tie and his over the top hat. That seemed to go well, he thought. Anyway, even if it didn’t he was in charge and he was planning to keep it that way. He looked at few loose papers on his desk and decided the first order of business could wait till tomorrow.


	2. prisoners of war.

Blades walked around the desk and sit on the end of it and glared at his fingernails. For Trevor, it felt like he was sitting again in the old school master’s office, without the latter’s more threating demeanour.  The engineer did however think that the spy was a joke, and after last night’s dinner conversation with the rest of the squad, didn’t have an improved opinion of them man. He was too immaculate for starters… what kinda of a killer wore clothes that where dry clean only?

  
Blades cleaned his throat and began to talk. “We’ve had some interesting developments along the front lines of the gravel pit this past month. They seem to have been attacked directly by a few rouges from the Blu side. They escaped, but not before bring half our base to its knees. We’ve been asked to bump up the security here, and you are the man to be able to do that yes?”

  
Trevor scratches his head. “ye’r mean sentries an’ all that? Sure’ that’d be easy. I’ve been workn’ on somthin’ specific for this ‘ere ol’ place, but last captain didn’t go fer’ it.”

  
“Well as long as we’re extremely fortified, you can set them up how you like. We’re getting some very seriously important cargo to hold later today.” Blades lit a finely elegant smoke.

  
“Cargo? But they’d stopped shipping uz’ weapons a long time ago an’ sent them to… Ohhh. So we’re getting’ the old load back ‘ere eh?”

  
“Not quite, though still quite valuable. They may gain us a good bargaining position.” A small perfect ball of smoke rolled from his lips.

  
Trevor frowned. “Ye’r sayin’ we’re takin’ on prisoners of war again?” he gestured a bit. “We have a deal with them thar’ other Well side about that kind of thing.”

  
“And just how long has it been since there’s been any Blu activity from that side of the shipping lane?”

  
“Well thar’ sir, not of late no.”

  
“Then we will take the prisoners.”  Blades leaned on the desk, his knuckles going white.  “There is three of them being brought here tomorrow, one of which is an officer, though I’m certain from what I have heard, two out of the three might be worth trying to getting to side with us.”

  
Trevor sat bolt upright. “Whatter’ mean side with us?”

  
Blades waved it off. “Oh nothing, just a passing thought.”  The engineer filed that last comment under ‘deeply suspicious’.  
  
Sophie was waiting for Trevor outside the intelligence room.  As soon as the engineer emerged, she fell into step behind the older man.

  
“So what was that all about?” she asked.

  
Trevor sneered. “Wer’ to up security. Wer’e gitt’n prisoner’s again… and this ‘ere time we can’t trade ‘em as e’s on to our ‘ittle arrangement with the Blu well base.” He looked a little worried about that. “We had that thar’ agreement in place for a reason! Meant less die out thar’.” The man grumped whole heartedly.

  
Sophie nodded. She knew about the arrangement both Well bases had. There was always constant fighting over supplies, till one day a few years ago two Blu’s made it into the base and out again without killing anyone, and then came back several hours later holding up a pair of white undies on a stick to hold a temporary truce. It had turned out; the two men that had got inside the base where only there to suss out what supplies we had that they could steal, and discovered that both sides got supplies from the SAME COMPANY.  She remembered them with a gentle sigh. The Engineer, who drove a hard bargain and was extremely intelligent for a young man, and the scout that stood outside the intell room holding the make-shift truce flag. She remembered the scout didn’t say much, only they did share a smoke together while standing in the silence while heated discussions where going on in the next room. She had never seen them before until that day, assuming they were new to the whole thing, but then had to change her mind, as she NEVER saw either of them again after the trade rules has been decided upon. Shame really, they were both pretty clean shaven, though the scout more so than the engineer, but it was clear they had been hired for a specific job and took it very seriously.

  
“I understand why your upset, but everything should be alright. As long as our new captain doesn’t decide to attack the other team’s base, we’re in the clear for now.”  
“That’s thar’ that worries me.” Trevor stopped and glanced back at the intelligence room. “’E seems too trustn’ for a spy.” The engineer had an issue with the whole ‘happy family – happy team’ context in all matter of ways.

  
“He’s only been here two days mate, give him time and maybe he’ll come around?”

  
“Fer’ our sakes, I hope so.” The man grumbled.  
  
A large truck came and went that afternoon, Three heavies all dressed in official high ranking uniforms had stepped off, eyeing the squad who were standing all at attention suspiciously before the prisoner exchange and the forms of paperwork where passed. They had escorted them to the holding cells, which until now; just held empty creates before driving back off to wherever the new RED headquarters was.

  
The red squad stood a distance away from the cells to get all the prisoner’s in view while Blades stood infront of them, looking at them individually. Well almost. The soldier that had come in was pretty much taking all the attention away from his counterparts.

  
“When I get out of here I’m gonna use your intestines for my sister’s new hosiery!” the soldier yelled, his arms groping through the cell bars in a fierce attempt at being threating. “You ‘ittle sissy maggots are going to be sorry you’ve taken ME prisoner!”

  
“Mah mutt mup.” That came from the cell beside the soldier. It was muffled, but it was pretty clear it was annoyed. The apparition folded its arms and thumped its foot. “Mu mot muss mimtmo missf memfh mimh maph memph mamace.”

  
Blades raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Trevor hoping the man knew what was said. Trevor shrugged. He’d never been stationed with a pyro before. None of the squad had.

  
The pyro was short and plump, and looked as if he’d been rolling around in the dust. Blades looked at some of the paperwork that he has signed before and let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no information on the pyro save for the fact that they seemed to argue with the soldier all the way over to the base.

  
“Let me out of here you commie sud-sucking scum!”

  
“Ma mefh mutt mup!”

  
‘SCILENCE!” Blades snapped, and stormed over to the stunned soldier and grabbed one of his arms, twisting it till the face of the man went pale. “You are in NO position to negotiate!”  He removed his cigar and pressed the burning end into the man’s palm sizzling the man’s skin as he did so making the solder turn extremely pale and the rest of the red team cringe, with the exception for Johnny, as the scout was dancing around on the spot jeering as the spy finally showed why he was the team’s new boss. Trevor grabbed the boy’s shoulder and hushed him, in fear of higher reprimand.

  
There was also a third man in another cell on the other side of the pyro. Sophie had given him the most attention, as he seemed familiar. Mind you to her, all BLU’s looked the same, but the fellow seemed to have features that reminded her of someone she had met somewhere before. Maybe at some long forgotten RED team party, or maybe somewhere back home in Australia. He was covered in dirt and blood, most likely his own or someone else’s, un-shaven and lacking sleep. He was resting against the far cell wall watching with interest, smiling like a man watching a good show.

  
At this point, the pyro pointed an accusing rubber-gloved finger at the soldier. “Miss mam, misfh mam middeut! Miff mit massmt mor mim, med me mack mome mim mowr medsh!” the pyromaniac’s shoulder slumped, which was rather an impressive gesture for a man with a hidden face. “Mar mu muys myryig? My mish mu mage mides.”

  
Trevor stepped forward towards the pyro. “I am rather sorry young’un’ but none of us can understan’ yer’.”

  
The pyro seemed to deflate a little more. A quite voice then piqued up.

  
“He asked if you were hiring, as he wishes to swap sides.”

  
All attention turned to the man in the last cell now, Blades letting go of the stricken soldier, who immediately grabbed his hand and stuck his burning palm into his mouth. The pyro puffed out it’s chest somewhat, glad that finally someone in the room understood him.

  
“You understand this, mumbling abomination?” Blades spoke carefully, trying not to show that he wasn’t about to admit to not being able to understand a word himself.

  
There was a brief shrug. “One arsonist like all other arsonists, all talks the same language. You get the jest eventually after a while.” He smiled knowingly, as if to say, ‘I know you need me to translate now, so you won’t be able to get rid of me yet.’  
“You know these two do you?”

  
“Not personally no.”

  
The pyro stood close the bars and spoke again, then outstretched a jovial rubber gloved hand through the bars as a welcoming gesture. “Ma mamf mifh middle muddy. Mit mood me ma meshure mooing mismess miff mu.” The spy stood back a bit, then looked at the other man waiting till he translated all that. The prisoner sighed.  
“He’s called ‘ittle Buddy, and says it would be pleasure doing business with you.”

  
Blades gingerly shook the pyro’s outstretched hand, which was shook back with extreme gusto.

  
“Mo, med mu ma met ma munifhorm?” the pyro trilled happily.

  
Mesmerised, Blades, unlocked the celldoor with care. “Trevor? Can you, Turtle and Kurai take this ‘Gentleman’ upstairs and get him a RED uniform?”

  
“You-Your’re going to let- let th-that thing out and o-on our te-tea-team?” Kurai stammered, cowering behind Trevor.

  
“On probation. For now.” The spy watched the pyro carefully. The figure in the suit was apparently over-joyed and embraced the spy and squeezed tight, letting go and practically skipped behind the not-so-pleased engineer and unamused Demoman with Kurai trailing behind them.

  
“Are you sure that was you know, wise captain?” Sophie asked in a low voice.

  
The spy shrugged. “The creature seemed so eager and willing.” He looked back at the paperwork. After the soldier’s little episode, there was no way he was ever going to attempt the man to side with them, flicking his eyes up to view the other man and back to the paper. The reports on the other fellow are strange.

  
“Says here,” Blade spoke gingerly, hoping he had all the facts right, “That they found you after you apparently helped two prisoner’s escape from one of our major missile bases.”

  
“That was a missile base?” the young man frowned. His tone of voice made Sophie smile. Clearly the man was playing dumb. The spy could see it too.  
“Was, till you blew up over two thirds of it.” She added. Blades gave her a death stare and she shrugged. “Well all know about the Steel base. It’s not as if it’s anything new.”  
“It also says here, you had shot several of our men with a pistol, a shot gun, some grenades and…” his brow furrowed, “A rocket launcher. When they found you they also discovered a Dead ringer about your person.” He clicked his tongue and rolled his cigar from one side of him mouth to the other and let the ash fall on his suede shoes, “Tell me, What class are you? As it seems to me, that you’re a bit of everything, and that says to me the word ‘SPY’ but you,” He looked the scruffy prisoner up and down, “Don’t look civilised enough.”

  
Johnny could no longer contain himself. He almost leaped up and down in front of the cell door. ‘You’re a SPY! SPY SPY SPY! A dirty smell rotten spy!”

  
A fist darted out from between the bars and pulled the scout smack into them, Johnny had fear all over his face, clearly the kid almost wet himself in shock, Blades, unsheathed his knife and had it aimed at him and Sophie had her heat maker aimed and clicked in ready to fire on order.

  
“DROP HIM!” they both shouted.

  
“Listen to me kid, go home.” The man spoke, fully aware the enemy where now armed. “You’re too young to die in this stupid war over millions of miles of baron wasteland. Spare ya mamma some tears and do somethin’ real with your life instead of wasting it here.” The man let go, Johnny dropping unceremoniously onto his arse. The boys eyes widened.

  
“YA A SCOUT!?” He exclaimed in surprise. “Ya too ol’ ta be a scout!”

  
“That’s debateable.”

  
“Wait, hold the phone.” Sophie adjusted her sunglasses and squinted. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

  
Blades was still confused, he had lowered his knife a little. “He’s a scout? But that makes no sense?”

  
“Maybe. I met a female Red sniper once. She and I shared a smoke.”

  
Sophie’s eyes opened wide. “IT WAS YOU?”

  
“Could have been. I never really spoke to her. Kinda felt stupid holding a pair of white underpants on a stick, but you know, that was kind of funny. Incidentally, thankyou guys for keeping them, it made the resident scout on the base furious and spend weeks looking for them after I had long left.”  
“I’m confused here m’lady.”  Blades gave the sniper a curious look.

  
“No confusion. I am indeed a scout, just a very long lived one. I’m also a bit of a weapons smith; hence all the weapons on your said list thingy there.” The man kept the slight sing song tune in his voice. “Unlike our flame-retardant buddy, I’m not swapping sides, though I’d much like a clean uniform. I’ve been shuttled around so many places in the past six months it’d be kind of refreshing to finally wear something that wasn’t covered in a thick crusty layer of my own blood.”

  
Johnny sneered. “NO WAY JOE’SE!” he shouted. ‘Ya not getting’ outta here that easy knuckle-head.”

  
The prisoner glared. You could have seen the burning of several trucks in his pupils.

  
“For the moment, I actually agree with OUR scout, despite his immaturity. You seem a bit too intelligent for my liking.” Blades murmured.

  
“Well I’m sorry you think that sir. But you don’t live long on any battle field if you do not learn and grow wise.”

  
“Your point is dually noted.” Blades replied. “I shall think on it.” And with that, he turned around and left the cells, with Johnny poking his tongue out at the prisoners before Blades, spun him back around, marching out the room. Sophie looked back over her shoulder.

  
“I’ll see what I can do. You’ll be amazed at some of the stuff we have lying around here from all the trading we used to do.”

  
“Used to do?” this caused the raising of eyebrows.

  
“We haven’t seen any Blu’s at that base for some time now. We assumed they’ve been called elsewhere, and the new captain doesn’t know of the arrangement.” She paused. “At least, I think he’s not aware of it.”


	3. A Letter

In another base far away from Well; the one known to all in the area as Freight, a newly donned Sargent was contemplating the immediate future, one that would possible involve another tomorrow.

  
“MAIL CALL!”

  
The young man looked up to see his team’s demoman waving a letter above his head. He sighed and grabbed the grubby envelope.   
“Thankyou Markus.”

  
“Not a problem Phyco steve.” The demoman grinned.

  
“I keep telling you guys just ‘cause I’m a soldier doesn’t mean I’m a complete-"

  
“Yeah yeah sure, pull the other one!” Markus laughed and wandered back to his post.

  
The soldier flipped the envelope over in his hands before opening it. It was addressed to him in small neat hand with rather bad spelling.   
  
_Deer Son,_  
 _How long ‘as it bin? Too long that’s what. Wel’s it’s nice if yer could write to yer ol’ man once in a wile. Anyways, I’d jus’ thought I’d send yer a howdie do, and let yer know yer collection is safe ‘ear at home._

  
Kingston glared at the paper hoping the words would melt and slink away. What collection was his father on about? He never sent anything home, at least anything relating to his new found love of hats. He continued:

  
_Yer ma an meselrf took thar libierty of ererrecting a shelf (is that how yer spell ‘errecting’ marther?) to display tharm them all, and my word, them’s there’s a lot of ‘em. I especially like the hat that looks like it belonged to a cardinal! All them’s big brass buttons on’et are reely something son! Pheew wee! An that thar’ ten gallon hate with all them thar holes in it, that’s something to tell yer children if yer have anything though me and ya ma are eager to know as soon as yer do boy, but ‘tween yer and me, ya ma is rather admit yer won’t find a nice girl till ya come home. (Yes mather I’ teeling the boy we miss him and he’s got to give us some grand children before we pass.. yer ol’ bat!)_   
_Any way, hope this finds yer in good stead and makes yer write back to us once in a while._

  
_Yer lovin’ father,_

  
_Cornelius Cecil Kingston, JR._

  
Hats. Kingston looked at the back of the letter and back to the front of it again. How did his father find out about his new hobby? More to the point, who had been sending him hats to his folks back home?

  
There were a few other pieces of paper in the envelope. Kingston flicked though them. They were photographs his father had taken of the hats, and since his father was a meticulous man, he’d written on the back of every single one, as he felt this made the photos more real and the memories stick in the mind. One of them caught his attention; it wasn’t one of a hat, but one of a beautiful detailed sketch. An image he recognised.

  
It was of an eagle flight through a ring of fire.

  
Kingston lowered the photograph and smiled.

  
“You total utter bastard.”

  
“What?” his squad’s sniper looked at him, mistaking the insult to be directed his way.

  
Kingston pinched the bridge of his nose, the smile not leaving his face. “Ah nothing to worry about, just something funny that’s all.”

  
The sniper grunted and turned away back to his watching position.

  
Kingston looked at the photo once more and muttered happily, “I can’t, I mean, geez you’re a lucky bastard.”


	4. job change

4\. The Job Change

The guard changes where more or less a loud affair, mostly due to everyone choosing to argue with the soldier for the entire length of their watch. Jonny - doing a large majority of the taunting - seemed to only aggravate the man. The scout in the other cell, took this time of being left alone as a good sign and tried to rest up in the corner. Jonny couldn't keep his gaze off the man though. He didn't like being shown up when it came to his own class. when he wasn't bothered with the soldier, he would strut infront of the cells like an inflated pidgen, though the little twerp thought he was showing off like a proud majestic lion.

"What in tar'nation are yer doing boy?" Trevor folded his arms when he entered the cellblock. clearly Jonny was being his typical idiotic show-off self.  
"What does it look like? I'm intimidating the prisoners."

Trevor rolled his eyes as Jonny puffed out his chest again. "Knock it off will yer?" he hit the boy across the back of the head. The soldier in the cell snorted with mild amusement. Trevor sighed and walked over to the far cell where the enemy scout stood leaning against the bars and dug around in his pockets till he pulled out the jingling set of keys for the lock. he gave the man a stare as he put the key in the lock. "Now don't yer go an' get any ideas son. I's only lettn' yer out as thar' boss lady has requested yer presence at some important meetin' we're suppose to be havn'. After which yer goin' straight back into here, yer understand me son?"

"Clear as glass." the enemy replied.

Trevor swung the door open and Jonny raised his gun as the man stepped out of the cell. he nodded towards Jonny. "I can see this kid's got a future, but it's a short one if he forgets to take the safety off that thing." Jonny glanced at his weapon, flicked the catch and raised it again, pretending that it was something he had meant to do. "Lead the way." Trevor hesitated then put on the most grumpy stoic expression in his arsenal as he cuffed the enemy before leading him out of the cell block, Jhonny poking him with the gun as he fell into step behind them.

Back in the main communication briefing room, the rest of the team where huddled around a black and white television set, listening to the administrator. a few heads turned when Trevor and Jonny marched into the room with prisoner in tow.

"Ah, it's about time." the administrators voice purred with a slight cackle. "Did you really think faking your own death would make you invisible to me...Basil?"

All eyes looked at the prisoner as he shrugged. "Worth a try."

"Hrmph." The woman snorted as the visage on the screen bounced around with the static. "You will prove your worth soon enough. Enough idle banter, we have received a very important message from our employer that you need to see. The rules of the game have changed mercs and it would be wise to unite against this new enemy." the lady turned to the side and yelled "Miss Pauline! Have you got the live feed ready? Well don't just stand around all day, get that patched through this instant!"

The screen flickered and then a man with a moustache and an acubra hat appeared no the screen fighting a yeti. He was yelling out in-between punches,

_"Listen up mercs! There are robots coming! I won't smooch backsides on this either.These things are bigger than you. they're stronger than you. Infact now that i'm saying it out loud, they're better than you at just about everything. Bidwell! Idea! What if we just hired the robots to--"  
"No sir."  
"Damn. Bidwell, stop tape. These mercs are going to die."  
"Not necessarily sir, we do have an R and D division.What if we give them all our experimental new tech?"  
"Give? Bidwell. Can you see my teats in this shot?"  
"No, sir. I've chosen a tight close up on the yeti's fangs."  
"Oo good! Where was I? Right, teats. They're dry Bidwell. Dry from all the suckling. You and these mercs have sucked them dry. No they'll pay for our products like everyone else!"  
"Sir, they are defending your company from extinction."  
"Bullsause! They're as neck-deep in this as I am! Infact why am I even talking to you? MERCS! Your jobs died with the Mann Brothers. You hear me? as of now, you're all unemployed! Also straight plain-talk here: Nobody's going to hire a non-metal man again with these robots around! I've seen them, they're spectacular. Now for the good news! You're all REHIRED! Grab a pen, here's you're new job description: KILL ROBOTS! NOW GET OUT THERE AND KICK SOME CAN! I'd help but as you can see, I will be fighting a yeti for nine more hours. MAKE ME PROUD BOYS!" _

Sophie and Kuri both folded their arms. they knew they'd always be collected as 'boys' but it would be nice to have their gender recognised from time to time. The tv blinked on and off a few times before completely going black.

"Quick question," Sophie asked. "How do we buy supplies if we're not getting paid?"  
"That, I can answer." Blades leaned over his desk. "Intelligence indicates that these 'thing's' drop money when destroyed.

"What kind of a name is Basil? It's a GIRLY name- OW!" Jonny shouted loudly in pain as the enemy scout stomped on his toes. The gun missfired and plaster rained down from the ceiling in the room.

"Gimmie that yer idgit!" Trevor wrestled the gun out of Jonny's grasp.

"So I guess we're on the same side now?" Sophie gave Baz a look in his direction.

"Looks like it." the blue scout added. "And it's Baz to you ya little worm." he hissed at Jonny, who poked out his tongue like the spoiled brat that he is. Trevor shot him down with a glare that could have froze half of Texas.

"Melfh, Noph Mephamrey. Mu Manf Amwk Mafay Miff Shime." Buddy mumbled in his brand new shiny red pyro suit.

"Walk away? Gee that WOULD be nice. Unfortunately I cannot do that. As long as the administrator is in charge, I'm legally bound to fight whoever, whatever I'm told to. It was part of the contract. Infact, you won't find many on our side who will leave a fight unfinished. Those who do didn't want to be here in the first place...Although I cannot speak for others." he gave the pyro a glare.

"Mahhh Mehhh.... Mif mafoffum mabommh hatph." Buddy rubbed a rubber gloved hand against the back of his gaskmask. He shrugged. "Mehph mahhfa munna Moo?"

"Well, I ain't going to swap my colours like you did that's for sure. I'm not going to dishonour my stripes, nor the teams I've been on... But I'm not going to let some metal hunks of junk take over this war neither." He looked towards the spy, "Just give me a weapon and tell me where to aim it."

Blades rolled his cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other, however Trevor was quicker at blurting out what he was thinking.

"Now jes a god damn minute here, I don't trust yer as far as I can throw yer. What makes yer so sure we're gonn'a need yer on our side?"

"Yeah, Yeah who said we are gonna trust you smart guy?" Jonny piped up excitedly.  
"Well I don't exactly trust you either, so I guess we're even, hells i'm pretty sure very few on my own side that would be more than happy to shoot me too if you get my drift." The blue scout seemed to speak in a sing-song voice that seemed to unnerve the red team. "In fact I am guilty of turning my weapon on a few on my own side."

"You mean your a traitor?" Blades exhaled a few whips of smoke.

"Sure, if the case of not shooting them got a whole teams lives killed in the process." he shrugged. "I'd like to think the decision of saving the lives of a few good men is better then having them all slaughtered by a stupid one. I'm not perfect either, I've danced with death enough to know my time is due.I don't expect to be trusted, not want to be. I know where I stand with people I can't trust an inch."

"You sound like a spy."

"Pffft yeah I wish. No offence to your boss-man here, but bringing a knife into a gun fight is the LAST possible thing I'd be thinking of doing. I've seen alot who've died that way on a battle feild. It's in't pretty." he paused for a moment. "Although that dead ringer thing......" a smile crossed his face.

Blades chuckled. "Yes, not everyone is good at the art of stealth." he mused, "And yes that is a nifty little piece of equipment, though I have seen many who have made the mistake of getting complacent with it."

"Well regardless, we're all against those robots now. Let's hope they drop enough cash to make this bloody worth it." Sophie shifted her weight all to the right hand side.

"Any enemy of the robots is an ally of mine." Kurai pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'll heal anyone who can take them down as long as you can provide the human shield."  
"Werl I may not like this, but I guess it just is ain it?" Trevor sighed. "I warn yer though yer scrawny meatbag," He poked Baz hard in the chest with his gloved hand a few times, "You get in the way of my sentry and your' gonna get it, same side or not."

"Well I don't like any of this." Jonny started up again. "This is aload of baolgny freakin' head spinning shit that sounds like crapola if you askin' me." he screwed up his face like a spoiled child.

"I bet I can kill more robots that you kid."

Jonny snapped and stomped up to the taller scout. "OH YEAH?" he growled. "Well I'll bet I'll destroy hundreds of the damn things before you even dismantle one!"

"I'd like to see you try and pull apart even one kid."


	5. The road to Freight

Baz looked at the Baby-faced blaster and the pretty-boy's pocket pistol and gave the pyro a funny look. "Do you ever get the feeling they're giving you the experimental weapon just to see what you'll do?"

Buddy laughed. "Mell my metfh mifs mat monny moshenph mo mow moo muse mit mand mats my mufh mot mit."

"Hmmm, yes, I second that. It is a tad heavier than the basic weapons they give you. I wonder what the gimmie is?" he gave it a once over and rubbed the barrel. “Well if this is all they've got, got to make the most of it.” He hefted it over one shoulder and gave the pyro a confident smile. Buddy nodded along with an air of confidence also. Now that he knew the scout's identity he felt alot safer knowing he was going into battle with him.... sometimes a person with a reputation can be handy, no matter how unwashed and unshaven they currently where.

Blades laid out a map of the well base and gave his assembled squad a conspiratione glance before straightening up and proceeding to business. Adjusting the knot on his tie he spoke, “ Gentlemen and ... ladies,” He nodded towards the team's sniper and medic before continuing, “ We all know what we have to do, we have to take back Man Co. from these robotic vermin at any cost. It is a long trek from here to the main offices and there will be many obstacles to get in the way, That is why we will be recruiting any able bodied troops from Red or Blu along the way to aid our fight.”

“AWWW we have to team up with more of THESE bozos?” Jonny pointed an accusing finger towards the pyro and the other scout. Baz grabbed and lowered the hand before Buddy chopped it off with his raised axe.

“That is, if any of therm are still alive.” Trevor looked grave faced at the map. “We already know thar are no Blu's left in the other base an' it was clear they left for somethin' big as all thar weapons and ammunition cahes are all gon'.”

“Then where's the next supply depo? It wouldn't be a bad idea to head for that and get as much stuff as we can. Maybe we can find other mates of our mob who'll give us a hand?” Sophie suggested. “We can also acquire some decent transport since the stuff he have here is useless for long distances across the desert and the trains have been down for months.”

“That would be here.” Blades stuck a pin into the map. “This is the freight hub, if anyone needs anything, we should be able to find it there.”

“Hold on, Before we be line it there we should check the area out here.” Baz stepped forward and tapped a space in the map between the two points. “If I recall the freight bases for both our sides are at least several hundred kilometres away and there's no way we'd make it that far if we go right across the open.”

“But that's through the Badwater mines!” Kurai stated loudly. “There's nothing there but huge holes in the ground!”

Blades gave Baz a cold stare that could have frozen all the animals in Africa. It was a special glare saved only for people whom the spy thought knew way too much for his liking. the sooner Blades could back stab the scout and make it look like an accident in the middle of combat the better. He had never in his long mercantile career ever come across one that even had the slight inkling of intelligence. The experience now was currently unnerving.

“No our 'friend' here is right.” Blades spoke carefully, the word friend spoken slowly to indicate that they are not chums yet but are still trying to be jolly about this current set of circumstances. “There where small mining villages set up in those areas in which we inexplicably took over and waged quite alot of war on. They connect up along towards the settlement of Hoodoo and through to the Granary.” He added in more pins to indicate the trail he was marking from Well to Freight with all the smaller locals in as well. “It's not a direct route, But I'm inclined to agree that going this way we will be provided with plenty of cover and at least be able to get a decent foothold in places if we do get attacked.”  
“Then it's all thar settled then?” Trevor scratched his chin. “But whatter we to do with our soldier-boy?” He indicated with a gesture to emphasise his point. “We can't jus' leave him in thar' without food or water while we'r gone.”

“Oh we so can leave that bonker's budgie brain to starve. I'm not going to feel remotely guilty about it.” Sophie folded her arms.

“I would.” Kurai whispered. “Do no harm. Do no harm is suppose to be my motto.”

“Well it wouldn't be you leaving him to die you silly shelia.” Sophie snapped. “It would be a unanimous decision.” She ruffled the meidc's hair. “You wouldn't even have to think about it was we'd have done it for you. No guilt required.”

“Still....”

“Tell you what love,” Baz winked. “ I have an idea, that'd give him a chance to live and give us a head start to get away from this base unnoticed. What do you say? Do you trust me?”  
The reds all stared at the Blue scout who shrugged. “Look, if it makes you feel any better I've been stuck in cells and in prison trucks next to the guy for several months and there is no one who wants to put a bullet into his loony skull more than me. But if by chance whoever is in control of those robots tracked that last transmission from the administrator this place is being watched or at least has robots already on there way to attack us. The least we can do is make sure we leave without being noticed.”

“What do you have in mind?” Blades hesitated to ask. After all brilliant ideas where supposed to be his area of expertise, not some lowly scout.

“Well this is what we'll do...”

The sun was just starting to slowly blanket the base in a warm glow as a truck bounded wildly out of the main doors, through the barbed fencing towing a trailer full of explosives. The Blu soldier was laughing manically as he sped off into the desert, firing a pistol out the window drawing as much attention to himself as a bright pink rhinoceros that glows in the dark. In the back of the trailer buried under all the ammunition was a homing beacon, blinking and beeping away with a signal designed to attract anyone stupid enough to chase a dangerous moving target. Turtle, the Well's demoman was sleeping in the back of the trailer, the team reasoning that one less liability to them wasn't a bad thing.

When the truck as a distant dot on the smouldering horizon the rest of the molty crew had snuck out the back of the base and where heading for the cliffs that dominated the landscape to the west and where all along the ridge heading towards their first stop on the way to Freight base on foot as it would be harder to track them; or at least a give away to where they where heading because they had to dump the vehicle. Between them the shared the burden of extra weapons and equipment and they all agreed that there was no way, however useful it would be that any of them would be able to carry a minigun for more than a mile or so.

Both Basil and Jonny had taken the liberty of carrying some of Trevor's more weighty equipment, dispensers and low grade sentries where things that they need to have on the perimeter of thier camps at nightfall as they could sense moment in the dark that human eyes cannot always see. Buddy had some of Kurai's medical supplies, while Sophie regularly re-sholdered a liberty launcher she was insisting that they might need it. Blades lead from the front with his procured grenade launcher and a eyelander sling across his back as you never knew when you needed to set a deadly trap that you can't risk anyone's lives in. They tried to keep to areas of shade where ever possible, though they where few and far between out here in the American west. Even Sophie was inclined to comment on the lack of shade and relief from the heat, the Aussie born and bread bushwoman admitted at least there where more places to wait out the hottest part of the day in the Outback. 

Baz paused a few times from his position at the back of the team to look around and orientate himself, the Scout while not at home in the desert as the Sniper, had learned to read the desert well enough to survive a few days out there while waiting for help to arrive when they had to evacuate a base that was over run by mutant bread. He had asked the lend of her scope a few times too and on one occasion shown her what he was looking at. Trevor tried to keep everyone's spirits up, especially with the two younger members, Kurai and Jonny, though on Jonny's behalf not so much as Trevor after a few hours was just as sick of him and his wining as everyone else. Jonny started to lag a bit until he was walking right in front of Baz, though he would have still been too proud and arrogant to be seen walking with a scout who was much older and wearing an enemy uniform.  
“MAN THIS IS SO LAME! Where are the robots? I mean, Come on! There's nothing for miles except flat barren wasteland here!” Jonny complained, dropping the tool box that contained a mini sentry. Baz picked it up and shoved it back into Jonny's unwilling arms. 

“Come on sport, pick up the pace and don't loose any of our equipment.” Baz nudged him to move forward and keep in front.

“Why should I listen to you?” Jonny snorted dropping the sentry again, this time harder and on purpose.

Trevor spun around and before he could scold the scout, Baz had already grabbed Jonny by one of his ears and swung him around to face the way they came. The base was no longer in sight, at least, not without some kind of telescope. Then the boot kicked him up the butt. “Well then get lost if that's how it's going to be.” Baz said flatly. “I wonder how far you would get, since before we got fully out of sight a large air carrier had flown over the base we had just left.”

“Air carrier?” Jonny's eyes widened.

“That's right. We saw it through Sophie's scope, although not too sure what it could be, but I'd bet my life on it that it was loaded with those robots, coming to look for us.” Baz snorted. “Of course we could be wrong, but who's to know? You can find out if you like, or you can stay with us.”

Jonny kicked up some dust and grabbed the sentry's tool box and trundled forward to catch up with the rest of the team. Trevor didn't start moving again until Baz had caught up and was walking beside him.

“That was harsh thar partner.”

“Sorry. Was there a better way? I'm sure if we left our Leader to deal with him he might not still be breathing. I at least gave him a choice, and one he made quite freely.” Baz looked ahead and Trevor followed his gaze. Sophie had told Blades what they had both spied a few hours back and this didn't do much to improve the Spy's mood but it did spur on a very direct form of determination that what they are doing must be completed to the very end. Baz was quite sure that if the spy was bringing up the rear he wouldn't have tolerated Jonny's stupidity for a second. Most spies that Baz knew wouldn't have hesitated in removing a person the second they became a problem. He hoped that Blades was different. The fact he was still alive and wasn't sent off to die with the soldier and the demoman had given him a bit of food for thought. How much luck he had though was still yet to be determined. 

“I remember yer.” Trevor said, loud enough for only the two of them to hear. “'Course Yer don't look as young as you did, nor as rough lookin' neither.”

“It took you long enough. Sophie beat you to it though. Quite an eye on that one, You looked after her well.”

“She's like a daughter to me.” Trevor smiled. “They all are like my own kids.... Cept the spy o'course, he's new.” he hesitated. “'E's a bit weird fer a spy but I think he has his own agenda.” He looked back at the scout. “'ow's that other engie that was with yer' on that day? He had a really good 'ead on he's shoulders.”

“Still alive..... I hope.” Baz looked rather solemn. “Last I saw them he and his wife where alive.” the sentence petered out. Baz had done nothing but think of his old team and the last few words he ever exchanged with the engineer. The only positive words he ever exchanged where with the two team mates he rescued and he hoped like the seven hell's there where alright.

“Hmm, fight with 'em huh?” Trevor just stated. “No matter. I bet someon' like yerself would be hard to forget about.”

There was a faint smile. “So are they.”

Eventually they came to a halt at the wide mouth of a canyon that lead off for miles. Blades had re-opened the map and both he and Trevor poured over it to work out thier current location.

“If we keep along the edge of this Canyon we will be headed in the right direction.” The spy traced his fingers along the map lines they had marked. “We can set a makeshift camp here and head towards Bad water and be there by nightfall.” he lit a smoke. “There should be a Hydro station around here somewhere....along with a turbine hydrolic's station. They should be reasonably safe places to set up a camp.”

“Then we should send 'ur scouts up ahead ter see if it's still safe enough. Our base used relied on power generated from the station till a few months ago before yer arrived.”  
“You trust him, do you?” Blades asked, knowing the engineer knew who he was referring too.

“As much as yerself and me trust each other and we all know how far that would be.” The spy smiled when he heard that, as his profession was very unpopular with engineers even on his own side and it filled him with a sort of pride. “If he turns traitor we can always get Soph to take 'im out from a distance.”


	6. Empty bases

Chapter 6. Empty bases.

“Miff mus merrpy” Buddy mumbled, taking in the surroundings.  
“I second that.” Baz kept his voice low, years of scouting around enemy territories kicking back in after months of being inactive. The baby face blaster poked it's nose around the corner of the entrance way before Baz himself, risked taking a first step inside. Both he and Buddy where checking out the Blu side of the Hyrdo station while Jonny and Blades where taking the Red side and rendevuing them in the middle of the turbine section of the building where both sides regularly fought one another if they were not doing so outside. “It's clear.”

Buddy slid into step behind Baz as they both stalked into the building before pausing a few feet from a stairwell. Baz blinked and let his eyes re-ajust to the gloom while Buddy puffed a few flashes from his back burner towards a few really dark corners. Buddy kicked a few bits of machinery that was lying around at their feet. It seemed to be everywhere, like the base's engineers had just dumped everything and fled. It would have been quiet if it wasn't for the constant talking - or at least whining - from Jonny through the headset that was forceably relinquished from his spare stash so that Baz and Buddy could keep in contact with Trevor and with Blades. Currently it was swinging from Baz's belt, as there was no way he was going to wear it with Jonny shouting stupidly at the top of his lungs about everything.

“Look at this! Look at all this crap, you seeing this? what kind of an idiot leaves all this junk around? It's like all the crap that Trevor keeps in his little hovel back at our base!”

“I resent that last remark yer' lying little snake!” Trevor's voice cut through the com just as loud as Jonny's. “The things I do fer yer boy...”

“You know, if there was an enemy around here Bud,” Baz said quietly so only the two of them could hear, “They'd have known where we all are about now. Or at the very least, where Jonny is.” He gave the pyro a sarcastic smile. “And you still think becoming a Red is better than being a Blu?”

“Myv'e meen marfing muu fremikk mit.” Buddy mumbled, adding a muffled laugh which made Baz snort and shake his head, trying not to laugh along with him. “Miff me my, mit'ff mall mere maft.”

“Agreed.”

Buddy poked at another weird mechanical device. “Mit mooks mike man marm.”

“Do you think the base could have been attacked?”

“Mell myme mot maying fo, mut mit mooks mapf may.”

Baz gazed at the debris. “Let's hope there's none still functioning. I really do not want to know what used to be attached to that limb.”

Buddy nodded, taking point and leading them down the stairwell towards the Hyrdo Base's living quarters, both of them getting the sinking feeling that they won't be finding anyone alive. The deeper into the base the walked, the more signs that this was likely. Blood was splattered against floors and walls and there was a few places where it was clear a corpse had been dragged off else where or pick up off the floor as the trails ended abruptly without traces.

“Miss mis phick.”

“Be glad you can't smell it with the mask on.”

“Mot meed foo, musf my mookin aft mit akes mu mant moo murl.”

“Meat processing factories smell cleaner.” Baz stared out into the gloom where big blood trail vanished into the dark. “What I don't get though is why take the bodies? It's not like robots collect the fallen for hunting trophies do they?”

Buddy lent over the blood trail and gave it a bit of a closer inspection. “Wuff mess mits mamout moo mofhs mold.” the pyro looked back up at the scout, “Mut mime mo octor.”

“I don't think Kuri would know the exact time of slaughter either without a corpse.” Baz hesitated. “She at least doesn't seem the type of person who would.”

Buddy stood upright and used the end of his back burner to light the rest of the passage. The corridor lead off to a larger more spacious room to the left before leading off into a dead end stacked with boxes and other debris. Before he could walk ahead, Baz grabbed him and hauled him back.

“Mut mives?”

“Shhh.” Baz lowered his voice, despite the sounds of Blades arguing with Jonny defeating any point of being stealthy in science. “Do you hear that?”

“Meah mot? Mother phan mall mat arfphuin my mant mear manyfphin.”

“I know I know but listen, not to them but to the ambiance. Filter it out. Can you hear it?”

They both stood still for a few minutes until they both could hear the beeps drifting from the room in the corridor.

“Does that sound like any sentry gun you know of?” Buddy shook his head and shrugged. Baz clicked a new shell into the blaster. “Me neither. Let's take a look shall we?” 

They both took up position on either side of the door to the room. The beeping was slow but alot louder now and the room flicked with a redish kind of light like the light on an engineer's mini sentry. Baz placed a foot in the room before Buddy prodded him in the chest with the back burner.

“Dont' worry, I'll be careful. I don't plan on becoming part of the decor around here. The place is covered with enough human insides as it is.” Baz gave a weary smile before entering the doorway. Buddy lowered the back burner and pulled out his detonator flare gun which was more amiable and would be able to selectively hit whatever it was if things got out of hand.

“Wholy fuck, what IS that thing?!” Baz hissed as he moved closer to the sound. The only way he could describe it would be that it was a mechanical abomination on legs, a light whirring on top of a huge steel ball with nightmarish blunt spikes sticking out of it. It looked like the bombs that you got in underwater minefields.....  
“Oh shit.....” Baz's eyes opened wide. “It's a walking bomb!”

As luck would have it, a loud shout came through the headset on his belt.

“OH MY GAWD! THERE'S FUCKING MANGLED CORPSES IN HERE!”

“Hell's Bell's Jonny! Have you never SEEN a battlefield before? There's bodies EVERYWHERE.” Blade's voice snapped.

The monstrosity's top spun around as if to scan where the noise was coming from and jumped upright when it locked onto Baz. Then it charged.

Buddy clicked his flaregun and then realized he had not loaded it, scrabbling through his kit he tried to stuff a new flare into the gun but panic was making him take longer to load the weapon.

Baz lept out of the way as the bomb charged for him, slid and redirected it's charge as if it was locked onto Baz's position. Baz ran for the back of the room with the Sentry buster at his heels leading the abomination away from the fumbling pyro, Made a rebound leap onto and off the wall, launching himself over the top of the bomb and aimed the blaster at one of it's legs. The bomb toppled over as it's leg was taken out from under it and the noise it made started going faster as it was preparing to explode.

Baz didn't stop to wacth, he was already bounding for the doorway, Buddy now with his flaregun loaded shot the ammo at the machine setting the whole thing on fire on detonation and the two of them threw themselves down onto the floor of the corridor as the bomb exploded.

Jonny froze and grabbed his headset with one swift motion and threw it at the nearest wall, grabbing his ear as something loud had burst his eardrum. Blades spun around, clearly sick of the young red scout's shenanigans. 

“What is it this time boy? I've just about had enough of you and your stupidity! If there was really and enemy still in here lurking around we'd have been dead by now!” he grabbed Jonny by the shirt collar and glared his most theatrically threatening stare. He followed Jonny's gaze back to the headset as Trevor's voice could be heard trying to find out what was happening.

“What in Tarnation is going on in there? Is yar all right? Someone answer me!”

Blades let Jonny go and scooped up the headset. “We're fine.” He said, glaring at the scout. “The boy just got a fright. I don't think he'll be watching any horror films for the rest of his life after this.”

“There was a loud explosion or something,” Jonny started. “I could have swore it popped my freakin' eardrum!” he snatched the headset off the spy. “An' jus' 'casue this base has dead bodies all over the place DOES NOT make me a WUSS!” he hesitated before adding, “It's just this place gives me the fucking creeps, that's all.”

There was a muffled sound coming through the com with some coughing and a sneeze. 

“Sorry, that was us.”

“What happened?” Sophie's voice asked urgently.

“Explosion. There was this bizarre bomb on legs and we just set one off.”

“Ergh and you didn't have the decency to blow yourself to pieces, what kind of BLU are you anyway?” Jonny snapped. Clearly he still didn't like Baz and just wished he'd go away already. One scout was enough as far as he was concerned.

“One that likes to stay in one piece, that's the kinda Blu I am!”

Blades sighed and kept walking leaving Jonny to argue with his own equipment. The red base corridors lead out into a large turbine room which looked like the turbines had been shut off for sometime. The spy lifted his lighter to see as far ahead as he dared, and noticed the stairs that lead down into the lower half of the base where the intelegence rooms where located where all flooded.  
Jonny's footsteps could be heard as he pounded his way along the corridor out into the open and over towards the spy.

“ENGH.” He grunted when he looked around, reaching towards the closest wall and tugged at a vine that had grown in through one of the skylights. “This place looks like it hasn't been used in YEARS.” he emphasized the last word loudly and clicked his tongue. “They really let it go haven’t they?”

Blades rolled his eyes. “As you can clearly see you incompetent half-wit this place had been attacked and there was no survivors. The broadcast from our lady friend may have been transmitted to us in a very delayed fashion and indeed we have been already at war with these things for sometime and it's only just now reached us.”

Jonny's chest swelled with pride. “That's 'cause they are afraid of how awesome we are and left us till last!”

“No, it's because the Well base is too far out to be strategically important to anyone unless they where fighting over a patch of dirt in the middle of the desert.”

“Ah, but it's a big bloomin' patch of dirt that's rightfully ours!”

“Oh mother of mercy...” Blades pinched the bridge of his nose. He grabbed the scout's headset and spoke into the com, “The rendezvous point is redundant. We shall re-convene back outside.” And with that he shoved it back in to Jonny's chest before pushing past.

Baz and Buddy picked themselves up off the floor and carefully peered around the corner to see the damaged they had done. Whatever that thing was, there was nothing left of it other than metal shrapnel littered about the room and partly embedded in the walls and ceiling. What did grab their attention was the big cavernous hole that had been blasted into the far wall and opening up into a supply room with a few crates inside. Picking their way through the debris the duo reached the crates and looked them over.

“Buddy, would you like to do the honors?” Baz jokingly took a bow and indicated the crates.

Buddy bowed in return. “My mefshur.” He clicked his fingers and waved for the scout to step back. The pyro then unsecured his axe and started hacking into the wooden boxes like a mad man, thou from Buddy's point of view he was most likely having a field day. Baz pulled right back and held up his arms as the splinters flew around in wild abandon as Buddy gleefully turned them into wood chips.

“MARD-MARRR!” Buddy posed triumphantly at his handiwork and slung the axe back into it's hold. Baz lowered his arms as he dared to look.

There wasn't much amongst the splinters except for a few clothing items. Baz picked up what looked like a jar with yellow liquid in and tossed it, not trusting it in case it was full of piss. Buddy dusted off a classy ladies hat and placed it on his head and pulled out a squeaky rubber duck, clapping joyously and Baz began to wonder if not for the first time, that Buddy wasn't actually a bloke under that hazmat suit.... or at least someone not bound by gender stereotypes.

Baz sighed as usual there was nothing in the boxes that he found remotely useful... even a few spare rockets for the rocket launcher they had dragged along with them would have been handy. Blades's muffled voice came through the headset and Baz nodded along, already making the assumption that they would have to turn back to meet outside without hearing the full message. Deflated that this had been a dangerous waste of time he turned to head back and kicked the jar of jirate out into the open room from where the entered. Buddy tapped him on the shoulder and waved something in his face.

“Mush food mit.” Buddy said proudly. “Mammy finm miz etter man fellmn mike fwet man vlood.”

Baz eyed the garment Buddy held out in question. It looked fairly new with brass buttons, just like the old military styled uniforms that went out of date during the French revolution.

“You sure that would fit? I'm not as skinny as Jonny nor most scouts these days.”

“Mam fhrre.” Buddy sounded self-assured.

“Alright, I'll wear it...only because I am sick of smelling like something that rolled in the field with dead cows.”

“Mahhhamay!” Buddy jumped up and down excitedly and gave Baz a tight hug.

“OK, Bud, this is close enough! I'd like not to get covered in gasoline too.” and with that still chirping behind the mask, Buddy let go. Baz pulled off his shirt and put the other one on, surprised at how long it's been since he's ever had to do up buttons. “I don't think there's much else in here.” Baz says after a final sweep of the area. He gets on the head set and reports. “Not much in this base, we're heading back. We might be safe in the area for one night at least but after that we need to blow this place and get a move on.”

There was a hiss and a crackle. “Agreed.” Blade's voice replied. “Alright, time to regroup.” and then in the background Baz could here “and that also means you, you pathetic excuse of a child. But no matter one day you'll face combat and have to become a man.”

with this Baz almost cracked a smile with Buddy clapping his hands in amusement. Maybe the kid might learn something out of this? Who knows.


End file.
